Labor Union Highlights Severe Staff Shortages Behind Chaos at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport

Following chaotic scenes at Ben Gurion Airport on Thursday, attributed by the Israel Airports Authority (IAA) to worker strikes, the airport workers' union led by Pinchas Idan released data revealing significant staff shortages. The union claims that the IAA management is aware of these shortages, which currently amount to 400-500 missing employees. Additionally, over 100 workers are on reserve duty, with dozens more absent due to long-term illness, injuries, or work accidents. The union warns that this severe shortage directly impacts the airport's ability to provide passenger services, especially as employees are working 220-260 hours monthly under intense conditions without breaks.

The union stresses the urgent need for immediate and comprehensive intervention, particularly ahead of the upcoming holiday travel surge. However, a comparison with peak periods raises questions about the staffing claims. Data obtained by Calcalist shows that in August 2023, when 2.67 million passengers passed through Ben Gurion, the sorting and handling departments employed 978 workers. In contrast, during August 2019, a record month with 2.8 million passengers and no reported chaos, these departments had 976 employees. The proportion of permanent staff in these roles has increased from 32% in 2019 to 42% currently.

Despite this, the union insists on shortages in specific departments: the handling department employs 540 workers but lacks 80; the sorting department has 400 workers but is short by 100. In the fire department, 61 employees work with a shortage of 18. Many workers are on reserve duty or absent due to health issues across these departments. Furthermore, the union reports a deficit of 200-300 security and inspection personnel. These figures underline the union's call for urgent staffing solutions to prevent further operational disruptions at Israel's main international gateway.